Baseball

DeFilippo & Doyle To Captain The Pioneers In 2018

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sacred Heart Baseball head coach Nick Restaino announced that PJ DeFilippo and Cody Doyle will serve as captains for the 2018 baseball season on Tuesday.

"PJ & Cody are great teammates and possess strong leadership qualities. They care about our program and its success in the past three seasons. Our staff looks forward to working with both of them".

DeFilippo had a breakout junior campaign in 2017 with 53 starts for the Pioneers, leading the team with a .315 batting average, .443 slugging percentage and .396 on base percentage. He ranked fourth in the Northeast Conference with 44 runs batted in. The redshirt-senior recorded a career-high four hits with a grand slam & three-run home run for 7 RBI against Mount St. Mary's on April 28, his RBI total was the highest for a single-game in the NEC last season. He earned NEC All-Tournament team as sophomore & freshman, he hit .271 both seasons and has increased his RBI production each season for SHU.

Doyle appeared 43 games with 35 starts behind the plate and at designated hitter in 2017. He recorded a career-high 17 runs batted in and boasted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 226 chances. He registered a RBI in five straight games from April 13-23. As a sophomore, Doyle led the NEC by throwing out 24 attempted base stealers against just 21 stolen bases for a 53.3 percentage. In his rookie season, he batted a career-high .275 and finished third on the team with a .362 on base percentage as SHU won its fourth NEC Championship.

The Pioneers finished with a 23-36 in 2017, with a 14-13 record in the Northeast Conference. SHU advanced to its ninth straight NEC Tournament, falling to CCSU in the championship game.